I don’t do a lot of vertical jigging but a great jig casting rod for me has been the St Croix Avid Model#AS66MF. I religiously use this rod for pitching jigs. It has the extra length I like to make a solid hook set on a long cast and the sensitivity to feel the bite on the end of that long cast. The fast tip allows for feeling the little extra weight on real subtle bites that will come when the bite is a little off. In my opinion the fast tip also allows me to give the bait a better action when hopping a bait across a sand flat or down a rip rap shoreline.
I just picked up a 7′ Shimano Clarus medium action spinning rod. Haven’t used it yet, but it comes highly recommended. Not as pricey as the St Croixs (which I love, by the way). I can recommend a 6′ 6″ medium power/fast tip Legend Elite. Since it seems like you spend most of your time chasing toothy critters, didn’t know if you wanted to drop $300.00 on a jiggin’ rod.